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Opinion: Lower minimum wage unfair to young workers

Author of the article:

Kaelin Koufogiannakis, Logan Fechter

Publishing date:

May 31, 2019 • 3 minute read

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney attends a photo call with Ontario Premier Doug Ford at the Ontario Legislature, in Toronto on Friday, May 3, 2019. Alberta is cutting the minimum wage for young workers and introducing other changes to holiday pay, overtime pay and votes for union certificiation.Chris Young/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

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The City of Edmonton Youth Council believes that lowering the minimum wage mandated for youth workers in Alberta will have an overall negative impact on the well-being of young people in the province.

We fully grasp the stated rationale behind the provincial government’s decision to bring this topic to the legislature this week. With this being said, from our perspective as a group of youth appointed to advise city council, this legislation would not provide the positive outcomes promised for the demographic we both belong to and serve as an advisory committee.

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To devalue youth wages compared to the rest of Alberta’s population is to unfairly discriminate against young people in the workplace on a set of unfounded assumptions about their work ethic and qualifications purely correlated to their age.

Youth who do the same work as any other worker in the same position should not be placed under discriminatory payment as a result of their age. This policy in its current form does not consider the merits of individual workers or their living situations, and although it may have the potential to create increased employment opportunities, the jobs created would be less beneficial for the youth who need those opportunities the most.

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Many youth do not have the financial or social supports necessary to provide for themselves, especially while pursuing an education — which often requires substantial time and money to complete — or saving up for post-secondary.

This is particularly the case for youth who must be self-sufficient or help to provide for their families. For any youth earner, financial hardships would be exacerbated if they were to make only 87 per cent of their current earnings. Youth-earners would be further hindered from providing for their basic needs or accumulating savings.

This, coupled with the reality that youth must also be considered qualified enough to receive employment in the first place, penalizes those who already have developed a strong work ethic and skills but do not meet an arbitrary age cap. It also fails to actively assist young workers to secure employment opportunities in the manner that a program like Canada Summer Jobs does.

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Although we recognize that this is a UCP campaign promise that Albertans supported in the provincial election, the policy only affects those who were not able to contribute their voices during the election. The perspectives of those under the age of 18 cannot be heard during the voting process, therefore, we believe that Premier Jason Kenney should seek out youth perspectives before implementing this legislation.

The lived experience of youth is valuable and can contribute insight about the impacts of this policy that go far beyond the projected economic benefits. Although the people affected are not voters, they are still Albertans.

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The volunteers of the City of Edmonton Youth Council come from a variety of backgrounds. While the proposed minimum wage may provide opportunities for some of our youth to join the workforce, the imposed loss of income for others will affect their ability to contribute to the financial stability of their households and/or families.

In summary, although we understand the intention behind this legislation, we do not believe that the results of it being implemented will be positive for youth workers in Edmonton and Alberta as a whole. We cannot assume that all youth are in the same financial and social situation, nor can we assume that all youth lack the experience and skill to merit the adult minimum wage.

It would, therefore, be irresponsible to endorse this type of legislation when it essentially considers age and hours worked to be the only relevant factors.

Kaelin Koufogiannakis and Logan Fechter are the chair and vice-chair of the City of Edmonton Youth Council, an advisory board made up of youth between the ages of 13 and 23. This position represents the views of CEYC.

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